1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate for an ink jet printer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, ink jet printers have attracted attention.
An ink jet printer records an image by discharging ink through nozzles (ink discharging apertures) which are formed in a nozzle plate of a recording head.
As a method of manufacturing such a nozzle plate, there is known an exposure method in which laser beams are used. This method comprises the steps of applying the laser beam to a masking plate which is positioned hermetically in contact with a workpiece to be processed and irradiating the workpiece with the beam which has passed through a row of holes formed in the masking plate, so that a row of holes are formed in the workpiece.
However, the above-described method inefficiently uses the energy of the laser beam because only a small portion of the optical energy of the laser beam applied to the masking plate reaches the workpiece.